Beer Thread V2?3?4?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by nik-

I like IPA's but it's just out of control. National's beer list has 16 IPA's on it out of 70 beers. You just don't need that many IPA's. They have 3 weak stouts, no Imperials. They have one pilsner. Other restaurants are getting all IPA crazy too. Enough already.

There's 2 pilsners.

Plus there's 3 or 4 Kolsch beers.

The average beer drinker is just starting to get used to not drinking adjunct lagers. There's 50+ ales at National. You would be hard pressed to find three 10 years ago at most bars.

[Top Shelf]

Went to a fondue and beer/wine/cocktail tasting event last Friday at the Willow Park liquor store

Tried these beers

Hacker Pschorr oktoberfest
Quetche tilquin a'lancienne

The bottom one was very sour, but I started to like it. Very different from what I usually drink

My wife enjoyed the Oktoberfest beer quite a bit as well

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I went to the Toolshed Brewery tour a couple weeks ago and was told that in Calgary the water is excellent for ales, but not good for lagers. The said Big Rock has to run their water through a reverse osmosis process to brew their lagers.

I'm not sure exactly WHY that is the case, but I can see that would be why smaller local brewers create ales.

I remember being told on a Wild Rose Brewery tour a few years ago that lagers are generally more difficult to brew all around. More equipment required, less forgiving in terms of contaminants adding additional flavours & such.

Basically dark or heavily hopped ales can are more forgiving to brew as the stronger flavours will cover up some the minor flaws that'll be more apparent in lighter bodied lagers.

The brew master with Brewsters told us most commercial brewers actually have a ton of respect for the big guys like Bud/Molson/Labatt being to able to brew such large batches of lagers with such consistently. It's apparently not an easy thing to do.

But yeah, I'm not gagga over the current IPA craze either, much prefer a nice brown or amber ale myself.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Wild Rose Brewery .

I am pissed at them.


One of my favourite beers, their Brown Ale, is no longer in bottles.


WTF!!

[nik-]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I remember being told on a Wild Rose Brewery tour a few years ago that lagers are generally more difficult to brew all around. More equipment required, less forgiving in terms of contaminants adding additional flavours & such.

Basically dark or heavily hopped ales can are more forgiving to brew as the stronger flavours will cover up some the minor flaws that'll be more apparent in lighter bodied lagers.

The brew master with Brewsters told us most commercial brewers actually have a ton of respect for the big guys like Bud/Molson/Labatt being to able to brew such large batches of lagers with such consistently. It's apparently not an easy thing to do.

But yeah, I'm not gagga over the current IPA craze either, much prefer a nice brown or amber ale myself.

yeah, the pessimist in me feels like they throw out all the IPA's because they can just hop the #### out of you to mask things.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I am pissed at them.


One of my favourite beers, their Brown Ale, is no longer in bottles.


WTF!!

Ugh! Me too man!

Seems like their Brown Ale has disappeared from everywhere, even old standards like The Ship & Broken City never seem to have it anymore.

It was easily my favourite local brew, and damn near the top of my favourite of all beers. So disappointed to see it disappearing. Hoping it's just a seasonal/volume thing and it'll return to market, but I haven't been able to order/buy it for a few months now.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by nik-

yeah, the pessimist in me feels like they throw out all the IPA's because they can just hop the #### out of you to mask things.

IPA is one of the most forgiving styles of beers you can make.

It's a lot harder to make a good/desirable porter, for instance, but, it's also a tougher market to sell to.

There is a lot more to good IPAs, though. Lots going on with different profiles and experimental varietals. I get kind of burned out on IPAs sometimes, but I recently had a Phillips beer called 'Octofox' and it was really excellent. Not outrageously bitter, smelled fantastic.

I find now that Pale Ales en masse are starting to become as hopped as they should have been years ago, hoppy enough to satisfy me but not so outrageous that I don't like drinking it.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I remember being told on a Wild Rose Brewery tour a few years ago that lagers are generally more difficult to brew all around. More equipment required, less forgiving in terms of contaminants adding additional flavours & such.

Basically dark or heavily hopped ales can are more forgiving to brew as the stronger flavours will cover up some the minor flaws that'll be more apparent in lighter bodied lagers.

The brew master with Brewsters told us most commercial brewers actually have a ton of respect for the big guys like Bud/Molson/Labatt being to able to brew such large batches of lagers with such consistently. It's apparently not an easy thing to do.

But yeah, I'm not gagga over the current IPA craze either, much prefer a nice brown or amber ale myself.

you are correct.

The head brewer at stone brewery mentioned earlier was a AB-INBEV brewer for like 15 years before going to stone, the guys that brew commercial lagers are brew masters of the highest order.

I don't really like how commercial lagers get #### on to promote craft beer. Ales are easier, cheaper and take less time and effort to brew than lagers. Ales should be sold on their own merit, there's nothing wrong with sloshing down an ice cold lager on a hot day on the softball field. I don't want an imperial IPA at 2 in the afternoon.

The reason craft brewers by in large don't make lagers is because it's a long turn around time and it's difficult to compete with commercial lagers for taste and profile. I think, though, that it's the natural evolution of the craft beer movement, if someone had the balls to go for it.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

The brew master with Brewsters told us most commercial brewers actually have a ton of respect for the big guys like Bud/Molson/Labatt being to able to brew such large batches of lagers with such consistently. It's apparently not an easy thing to do.

My cousin's wife was a microbiologist at Labatts in London. Consistency is by far one of the hardest things to do and they are always monitoring the water supply as any variance will affect the taste. it is really interesting the lengths they go to.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Ugh! Me too man!

Seems like their Brown Ale has disappeared from everywhere, even old standards like The Ship & Broken City never seem to have it anymore.

It was easily my favourite local brew, and damn near the top of my favourite of all beers. So disappointed to see it disappearing. Hoping it's just a seasonal/volume thing and it'll return to market, but I haven't been able to order/buy it for a few months now.

We should start an email onslaught.....

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I am pissed at them.


One of my favourite beers, their Brown Ale, is no longer in bottles.


WTF!!

Sounds like it's time to build a kegerator!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

Sounds like it's time to build a kegerator!

Do they still do pigs?

[undercoverbrother]

Just looked at their website/

I think they have renamed it Barrack's Brown.

This is useful:

http://www.wildrosebrewery.com/beer-finder/#6

I am still gonna email them.

[Hanni]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Just looked at their website/

I think they have renamed it Barrack's Brown.

This is useful:

http://www.wildrosebrewery.com/beer-finder/#6

I am still gonna email them.

Not sure if it's the same as the one you are missing but I've had Barrack's Brown and it is tasty.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Hanni

Not sure if it's the same as the one you are missing but I've had Barrack's Brown and it is tasty.

I sent them an email and asked.


I suspect it is the same beer, but just renamed.


Having spent a chunk of my 20's on that base, I really like the name.


There are a couple of stores near my office that show up on the website. Gonna hit them up today.

[Canehdianman]

Wildrose Brown Ale is definitely in my top 5 beers of all time. Absolutely love the stuff.

I just bottled a Brown Ale that I tried to mimic the WR Brown. Haven't tried it yet, so I don't know how far off I am.

They do still have pigs - http://www.wildrosebrewery.com/tap-room/party-pig/

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I sent them an email and asked.


I suspect it is the same beer, but just renamed.


Having spent a chunk of my 20's on that base, I really like the name.


There are a couple of stores near my office that show up on the website. Gonna hit them up today.

I've been told it's the same beer, I believe it is the same beer. But the map on their website is far from accurate, particularly for "on tap" locations.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I've been told it's the same beer, I believe it is the same beer. But the map on their website is far from accurate, particularly for "on tap" locations.

well they got back to me

From: Claire Bleay [mailto:cbleay@wildrosebrewery.com]
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2014 10:20 AM
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Your Brown Ale.

I am sorry that you are having so much trouble tracking some down!
I will have a look at the Beer Finder as well. I am so sorry about that.

I hope you find some soon!

Cheers,
Claire Bleay
Marketing Coordinator
Wild Rose Brewery
cbleay@wildrosebrewery.com
403.993.5559



From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: October-10-14 10:09 AM
To: Claire Bleay
Subject: RE: Your Brown Ale.

Thanks for the response Claire.

Funnily enough I work by 2 of the stores in Red Deer that carry your Brown (at least according to you website). I check them both……..but no luck.

It appears that there is no brown ale to be had in central Alberta.

Sad



From: Claire Bleay [mailto:cbleay@wildrosebrewery.com]
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2014 9:55 AM
To: xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Your Brown Ale.

Good Morning

Thank you very much for showing your interest in Wild Rose Brewery!
The Sobeys should carry our product. Our records show that their recent order included IPA, Wraspberry Ale, Electric Avenue, Velvet Fog, and the Anthology Pack. If you are unable to find the Barrack Brown, feel free to ask them about it! If for whatever reason it isn’t in stock, then that will encourage them to bring it back. The more you ask, the more likely they will bring it in. If you are interested in calling them to find out, their number is 4038870862. That way you shouldn’t have to drive to Red Deer!
Thank you again for your interest in Wild Rose Brewery.

Cheers,

Claire Bleay
Marketing Coordinator
Wild Rose Brewery
cbleay@wildrosebrewery.com
403.993.5559



From: xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: October-09-14 9:54 AM
To: Wild
Subject: Your Brown Ale.

I was poking around you site and it looks like you have renamed your Brown Ale to Barracks Brown. Great name BTW, I spent some of my 20’s on the base in Calgary and love that you have typed it into the name. Your Brown is one of my favourite beers.

That being said I can’t find it in Sylvan Lake. Your website says that Sobeys carries it but I have never seen it.

Do you know if/when it will be available in Sylvan or will I have to chase it down in Red Deer?

Thanks.

no closer to having any Brown Ale......

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

well they got back to me



no closer to having any Brown Ale......

Thanks for the info!

Taking a guess, it would appear the larger selection of Wildrose brews has caused some of their vendors to stop ordering it. As I said, I've been having a hard time finding it on tap in Calgary, and I used to order it quit regularly.

Going from 4 "core" brews to 6 it looks like our poor Brown Ale has become the odd man out when it comes to shelf/tap space

Wildrose doesn't even include it in their anthology 12-pack.

[OutOfTheCube]

I bought a six pack of the Barracks Brown a while ago and wasn't a big fan. I drank it all but wouldn't buy again.

In general I don't like much of Wild Rose's beers.

If you want a tasty brown ale try the Naramata Nut Brown Ale from Cannery Brewing.



Delicious. They carry it at Crowfoot.